Bernina will put up a giant sewing machine statue in Chicago on June 13. This is meant as a tribute to the influence the sewing machine has had on society since its invention in 1790.

Bernina, based in the US, is a manufacturer of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines that have a Jumbo Bobbin with 70 per cent more thread capacity to sew longer with fewer interruptions. The Bernina Hook sews high-precision stitches up to 9 mm in width with sewing speeds up to 1,000 stitches per minute. Embroidery features such as PinPoint Placement and Enhanced Editing Functions provide the capability to create embroidered masterpieces on these innovative machines.

Made from polystyrene, hand-carved foam, the statue is a replica of the soon to be released Bernina 880 Plus Anniversary Edition sewing machine. Representatives from Bernina will be onsite to pass out tote bags and invite people to get up close to the machine. Visitors and Instagram users can also take pictures of themselves in front of the statue or in front of their own sewing machine and share on social media.

The invention of the sewing machine made a significant impact not only on clothing and textile production but also in households across the globe.

In 2017, of all new circular knitting machines , Asia received the highest share of shipments of 84 per cent, whereas global sales of electronic flat knitting machines soared by 44 per cent.

Global shipments of large circular knitting machines rose slightly by 0.12 percent. With 39 per cent of worldwide deliveries, China was the single largest investor. India and Vietnam rank second and third.

In 2017, worldwide shipments of shuttle-less looms increased by 12 per cent. The main destination of shipments of shuttle-less looms was Asia with 91 per cent of worldwide deliveries, of which 48 per cent were water-jet looms, 31 per cent rapier/projectile looms, and 28 per cent air-jet looms.

In the segment of fabrics continuous, shipments of mercerising-lines, singeing-lines, and stenters increased by 54 per cent, 11 per cent and two per cent. Deliveries in the other sub-segments decreased. In the segment fabrics discontinuous, shipments of air-jet dyeing and overflow dyeing machines increased by 35 per cent and 72 per cent respectively whereas those of jigger dyeing/ beam dyeing machines fell by seven per cent.

Global shipments of single heater draw-texturing spindles decreased by 87 per cent. Shipments of double heater draw-texturing spindles increased by 27 per cent.

Pakistan has lost its textile export share from 2.2 per cent to 1.7 per cent in the world market over the last decade.
Cotton production has declined in the past few years due to the ongoing water shortage, outdated technology, low quality seeds and fertilizers.

Despite being the fourth largest producer and the third largest consumer of cotton, the country is facing a deficit in cotton production since 2013 and relies heavily on imports of cotton to meet local demand.

Only 50 per cent to 55 per cent of the sowing target has been achieved so far.

The cotton oriented textile industry is the mainstay of the economy of Pakistan. It contributes to 60 per cent of the country’s exports, 8.5 per cent to total GDP and provides employment to 40 per cent of the work force.

The major challenges faced by the industry are unstable world prices, macroeconomic instability and high cost of doing business. In addition to economic issues, Pakistan’s textile industry is also facing strong competition from regional competitors (Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and China) as well as from global competitors like American and European textile industries.

Because of the severe water shortage production of cotton may decline by a further 35 to 40 per cent compared to last year.

Global economic growth will remain robust at 3.1 per cent in 2018 before slowing gradually over the next two years.
Activity in advanced economies is expected to grow 2.2 per cent in 2018 before easing to a two per cent rate of expansion next year.

Growth in emerging markets and developing economies overall is projected to strengthen to 4.5 per cent in 2018, before reaching 4.7 per cent in 2019.

If it can be sustained, the robust economic growth this year could help lift millions out of poverty, particularly in the fast-growing economies of South Asia. But growth alone won’t be enough to address pockets of extreme poverty in other parts of the world.

Policymakers need to focus on ways to support growth over the longer run—by boosting productivity and labor force participation—in order to accelerate progress toward ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

However the projected outlook is subject to considerable downside risks. The possibility of disorderly financial market volatility has increased, and the vulnerability of some emerging market and developing economies to such disruption has risen. Trade protectionist sentiment has also mounted, while policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks remain elevated.

Over the long run, the anticipated slowdown in global commodity demand could put a cap on commodity price prospects and thus on future growth in commodity-exporting countries.

Cambodia wants the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to include more Cambodian products like garments, shoes, bicycles and sugar in its tariff scheme.
The EAEU is an economic bloc composed of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Cambodia and the EAEU have agreed to further cooperation in the industrial, agriculture and telecommunications sectors as well as enhance trade and investment, streamline customs procedures, and cooperate on setting industry standards, accreditation mechanisms and sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

The EAEU has also accepted the Cambodian proposal to study the possibility of establishing a framework for the negotiation of a tree trade agreement in future.

Both parties have also agreed to jointly work on intellectual property issues, and explore the possibility of establishing a working group on digitalisation.

Cambodia seeks to gain preferential access to as many markets as possible, as well as sign free trade agreements with other nations and economic blocs.

Currently, the European Union takes 45 per cent of Cambodia’s exports, the United States 25 per cent, and the resulting 30 per cent goes to the rest of the world.

Most exports to northern Eurasia are subject to import taxes. Right now, Cambodia has no trade preferences with the EAEU, which makes its products there less competitive.

Brazilian cotton index rose 12.3 per cent between April 30 and May 30 and cotton prices increased in the Brazilian market in May. This is owing to the lower 2016-17 supply and the slow pace of the 2017-18 harvesting.
During the month, growers, trading companies and/or traders only had a few batches to offer. Some of them seemed to be accomplishing contracts involving the 2016-17 crop.

On the other hand, buyers showed interest in new acquisitions in the spot market, even for mixed quality batches. However, only some agents agreed to pay the prices asked by sellers.

In general, processors were finding it difficult to pass on the price rises of raw material to by-products. So some of them reduced the production pace and worked only with stocked cotton. Others opted for purchasing 100 per cent thread and/or mixed, lowering the need for cotton.

The May 21 truckers’ strike, due to rise in fuel prices, hindered transportation, resulting in reduced trade in the spot market.

Meanwhile, 75.1 per cent of the 2016-17 Brazilian crop (estimated at 1.529 million tons) had been traded until May 29. Of this total, 61.9 per cent was allocated to the Brazilian market, 27.5 per cent to the international market, and 10.6 per cent to flex contracts (for exports, but with an option to sell in the domestic market).

Bangladesh’s earnings from garment shipments were 9.80 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Reasons include increased sales of high-value items and the depreciation of the local currency against the dollar.

So far, Accord and Alliance have completed 90 per cent of the remediation works in 2,200 of their sourcing factories in Bangladesh. As a result of the efforts, garment factories can now confidently chase larger work orders from western retailers.

The country’s garment products are performing well in new markets like Japan, India, Russia, South Africa, Australia and Latin America.

Both the leather and jute sectors look set to cross the billion dollar mark in export receipts this fiscal year. Leather and leather goods are Bangladesh’s second largest export earner after garments.

Earnings from jute and jute goods in the July-May period rose 6.99 per cent from a year earlier. Home textile exports rose 11.67 per cent and agricultural products 18.09 per cent.Footwear exports increased 2.55 per cent, furniture 21.33 per cent and bicycle 4.47 per cent. Earnings from cotton, cotton products and yarn exports went up 15.86 per cent in the period.

Omnichannel is emerging as the new retail phenomenon that binds all channels of sales seamlessly through technology.

With the focus becoming more and more customer-centric, the retail has to embrace technology.

E-commerce has revolutionized the customer experience, offers a sea of product ranges, discounts, personalization through faster deliveries at specifically chosen times, fast-tracked and unquestioned returns, and more.

This is only going to evolve for the better in the coming years, and there’s need of integration with offline retail through the concept of omnichannel. A recent McKinsey survey in Europe revealed that 80% of the top E-commerce executives agreed on their efforts towards Omni.

Successful Omnichannel originations have been able to merge their functions of the supply chain, product, marketing, and retail to create a frictionless experience.

The Omni mindset is crucial for letting go of traditional practices and adopting new ones to reduce lead times, like moving inventory closer to the consumer through decentralising. The new mindset also manifests into the investment in disruptive technology.

Thanks to technology, various omni solutions are being created in various branches under ever growing retail tree.

Luciano Benetton, co-founder of Benetton Group, was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts by the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

Benetton was recognised for his contribution to innovation in industry, his bold ideas and his lifelong quest for unity, civility and respect among all people.

FIT, a part of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for almost 75 years. Providing its 9,000 students with hands-on, practical experience, theory, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts.

FIT offers a wide range of affordable programs that foster innovation and collaboration. Its curriculum is geared to today's rapidly growing creative economy, including fields such as computer animation, toy design, production management, film and media, and cosmetics and fragrance marketing.

Gabi Seligsohn will be stepping down as CEO of the digital printing machinery company Kornit Digital on 1 August 2018. Gabi, who has been Kornit’s CEO for four years. He will be succeeded by Ronen Samuel, who joins from HP Indigo, and will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors.

Yuval Cohen, Kornit’s chairman of the board, stated that Gabi has built a deep and wide foundation for the long-term growth of Kornit, including an excellent management team, a long-term roadmap, a strong team and infrastructure in the US, Europe and Asia, and a world class R&D organisation. Whereas Gabi mentioned that Ronen is a proven veteran of the printing industry.

Ronen has spent the previous 18 years serving in various capacities at Hewlett-Packard. Most recently, he served as vice president and general manager of HP Indigo and WebPress EMEA.